1、School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityChapter 7 Assessment in Language TeachingDr Hongying ZhengSchool of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityAims of the unit What is assessment?How is it different from evaluation and testing?The purposes of assessment The methods of assessment
2、 The criteria for assessment The principles for assessment Tests in language assessmentSchool of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityUnderstanding assessmentTask 1 The following is a list of understanding given by different teachers a bout assessment.Tick the ones that are closest to your und
3、erstanding.Then compare and discuss them with your partner.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal University Its to do with testing.Finding out how good you are at something.I use it to keep a check on my learners,by spelling tests,small quizzes and things like that.It is an on-going process whi
4、ch focuses on the whole life of our school.Finding out if we are being effective.I feel as though its a big stick hanging over our heads,teacher evaluation and all that.Finding out strengths and weaknesses of our students and ourselves.I use tests in my classroom.I also use quizzesas a way of keepin
5、g a check on the students learning.I also mark their work,sometimes with a grade but usually a comment.It is to do with record-keeping,collecting information about how well the students are doing.I think it has something to do with evaluation.(Adapted from Conner,1991:2)School of Foreign Languages,S
6、ichuan Normal UniversityDifferences among testing,assessment and evaluationTesting:Testing often takes the pencil and paper form and it is usually done at the end of a learning period.The result is often expressed by a mark,a grade or a ratio.Students test scores are compared with each other and som
7、etimes ranked for selection purposes.Assessment:Assessment involves the collecting of information or evidence of a learners learning progress and achievement over a period of time for the purposes of improving teaching and learning.It is not based on one test or one task,nor is it expressed by a mar
8、k or grade,but rather in a report form with scales or levels as well as description and comment from the teacher.Test scores may also be one source of the information.The students achievement is often measured against his/her own starting point rather than compared against the skills or abilities of
9、 other students.Evaluation:Evaluation,according to Cameron(2019:222),can be concerned with a whole range of issues in and beyond language education:lessons,courses,programs,and skills can all be evaluated.It involves making an overall judgment about one work or a whole schools work.It produces a glo
10、bal view of achievement usually based on many different types of information,such as observation of lessons,students test scores,teachers assessment reports,course documents,or interviews with students and teachers,etc.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTask 2 Read the above defini
11、tions again and draw your own diagram to demonstrate your own understanding of the three terms and their relationships.Does the diagram you created help you,to some degree,understand the relations among the three terms?Explain to each other how testing is related to assessment and assessment to eval
12、uation.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityPurposes of assessment Assessment in ELT means to discover what the learners know and can do at certain stage of the learning process.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTask 3 What do you think are the purposes of assessme
13、nt?The chart below has twelve possible purposes of assessment.Do you agree with them?If yes,choose six items that think are the most important purposes of assessment.Then add one or two assessment purposes that you think apply to ELT classroom.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityAgr
14、ee/Disagree1.To discover learners weakness2.To discover learners achievements3.To evaluate existing curriculum4.To check upon teachers performance5.To motivate learners6.To provide learning incentive7.To provide basis for further planning of teaching:what to teach next8.To qualify students for certa
15、in status9.To provide basis for correction10.To provide criteria to qualify for higher level studies11.To provide learners with a sense of accomplishment12.To foster learning abilitySchool of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTask 4 According to what you have understood from the above discu
16、ssions,complete the following table and then discuss it with a partner.TestingAssessmentEvaluationPurposesSources of informationReport formsFor whom?School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityWhat are testing,assessment and evaluation for?Testing is for schools or parents benefits,for them
17、 to know exactly where each student stands among all the students tested and how well they do in such tests.Assessment is for teachers and for learners,for them to not only know how well they have done but also where they have done well and where they need more efforts.For educational purposes and f
18、or the purposes of improving teaching and learning,assessment is far more important than testing.Evaluation is often for authorities who would want to know whether the money they spent or the policy change has had good results.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityMethods for assessme
19、nt Summative assessment:It is mainly based on testing.It is done mostly at the end of a learning period or the end of a school year.It focuses very much on memory work.Formative assessment:It is based on information collected in the classroom during the teaching process for the purposes of improving
20、 teaching and learning,therefore,it is sometimes termed as classroom assessment as well.It focuses on the process of learning,that is,on assessing how well students understand concepts,perform tasks and make progress during the process of learning rather than on the final product or result of learni
21、ng.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTask 5 Work in pairs and answer the following question:Besides testing,what are the other methods that can be used to gather information about the knowledge and performance of language learners?Please give examples if possible.School of Foreign
22、 Languages,Sichuan Normal University In addition to testing,there are many other alternative ways to gather information,such as teachers observation;continuous assessment;students self-assessment;project work;portfolios;School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal University Teachers observationsResea
23、rch shows that the teachers knowledge about students and their strengths and weaknesses based on daily observations is more accurate and sound than testing(Law and Eckes,2019:44).Very often the teachers observations of the learners overall performance or achievement can be quite accurate and fair.Sc
24、hool of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal University Continuous assessmentThe final grade given to the student is not his/her mark on the final exam paper;rather,it is some kind of combination of the grades the student has received for various assignments during the course.It can also include the gra
25、des that the teacher has given for the students performance or participation in the class activities.It could also be a written report rather than just a grade.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal University Self-assessment and peer assessmentThe students themselves are given the chance to eva
26、luate their own performance,using clear criteria and weighting systems agreed on beforehand.Kohonen(2019)asserts that students are able to make quite accurate assessment of their own achievements.With peer-assessment students are involved in assessing each others work.This will give them a sense of
27、responsibility in learning and it can give them a good opportunity to become more aware of their own learning.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal University Project workProject work requires students to complete a set of tasks designed to explore a certain idea or concept.School of Foreign La
28、nguages,Sichuan Normal University Portfolios Portfolios aim to assess students ability to apply knowledge.A portfolio is a purposeful collection of material assembled over a period of time by a learner to provide evidence of skills,abilities and attitudes related to their study.As part of the portfo
29、lio process,students are normally asked to think about their needs and goals,and reflect on their weaknesses and strengths in language learning.Their reflections not only help raise their awareness for learning but also provide feedback to teachers,enabling teachers to be more aware of the students
30、interests,needs,potentials and abilities so that teachers can take necessary measures to monitor their learning(Barootchi and Keshavarz,2019).School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityWhat kind of things can be included in a portfolio?Oral performance records based on story-telling,interv
31、iewing,dialogue performance,etc.Collection of pictures and art works reflecting the students learning Drawings,picture story,diagram description by the student;Performance records such as role plays,reciting,music performances,etc.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityCriteria for ass
32、essmentCriterion-referenced assessment:it is based on a fixed standard or a set criterion.Norm-referenced assessment:it is designed to measure how the performance of a particular student or group of students compares with the performance of another student or group of students whose scores are given
33、 as the norm.Individual-referenced assessment:it is based on how well the learner is performing relative to his or her own previous performance,or relative to an estimate of his or her individual ability.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTask 7What are the possible advantages and
34、disadvantages of different assessments based on different criteria?Discuss the question in groups of 4 and note down your ideas in the chart below.AdvantagesDisadvantagesCriterion-referencedNorm-referencedIndividual-referencedSchool of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityAssessment principles
35、Assess authentic use of language in reading,writing,speaking,and listening;Assess literacy and language in a variety of contexts;Assess the environment,the instruction,and the students;Assess processes as well as products;Analyse patterns of errors in language and literacy;Base assessment on normal
36、development patterns and behaviour in language and literacy acquisition;Clarify and use students when assessing reading,writing,and content knowledge;Involve students and parents,as well as other personnel such as the ESL or mainstream teacher,in the assessment process;Make assessment an ongoing par
37、t of every day.(Taken from Law and Eckes,2019:9)School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTests in assessmentA test with different formats tends to have more validity and reliability than a test that is designed in a single format,for example,multiple-choice format.Below are most frequent
38、ly used test formats.Questions and answersTrue or false questionsMultiple-choice questionsGap-filling or completionMatching questionsDictationTransformationTranslationEssay writingInterviewSchool of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityTask 9Work in groups and discuss these questions:What are
39、the usual formats of the tests that you have taken in your experiences of English learning?Is there any particular format that you like or dislike?Why?School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityReferencesConner,C.(1991).Assessment and Testing in the Primary School.Hampshire:The Falmer Press.Law,B.&Eckes,M.(2019).Assessment and ESL:On the Yellow Big Road to the Withered of Oz.Winnipeg,Man.:Peguis Publishers.王蔷.2019.英语教学法教程.高等教育出版社.School of Foreign Languages,Sichuan Normal UniversityThank you!
